Abstract: Speeches and writings, correspondence, notes, loyalty- security board hearing transcripts, conference papers and agenda, and
printed matter, relating to Sino-American relations; the post- World War II loyalty-security program in the Department of
State; various aspects of Chinese history and politics, especially in the twentieth century; and American policy during the
Vietnamese War.

Physical Location: Hoover Institution Archives

Language:
English.

Administrative Information

Access

Collection open for research.

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Foreign service officer, U.S. Department of State, including term as Consul General, Beijing

1951

Faces charges of "disloyalty" during McCarthy period and is suspended from the China desk of the State Department

1952

Suspension is overturned on appeal by Clubb, who nonetheless resigns from the State Department

1959-1966

Visiting lecturer at Columbia University, Brooklyn College, New York University, the New School for Social Research, and Cornell
University

1964

Author,
20th Century China

1971

Author,
China and Russia: The 'Great Game'

Scope and Content

Received at the Hoover Institution Archives in 1993, the O. Edmund Clubb Papers consist primarily of writings, correspondence,
and research materials relating to Clubb's lifelong interest in the politics and history of China. From the time of his experience
as Foreign Service officer in China, Clubb wrote extensively on issues of China policy, and in particular Sino-American relations.
Having been a "China Hand," Clubb had been a direct witness to the Chinese civil war and was critical of unconditional American
support for the forces of Chiang Kai-shek in this conflict. Clubb's position would later bring him difficulties in terms of
his career in the State Department.

During the McCarthy period, Clubb faced accusations of "disloyalty" and was suspended from his policy position within the
State Department (a transcript of Clubb's hearing before the Loyalty Security Board can be found in the Biographical File).
Although he was later vindicated on the appeal of his suspension, he resigned from the Foreign Service and pursued a career
as a writer and academic, concentrating again on issues relating to China. His writings reflect a consistent viewpoint challenging
American foreign policy during the Cold War, and he emerged as an early critic of the American intervention in Vietnam.

In presenting Clubb's scholarly and journalistic publications in one place, the collection affords researchers the opportunity
to trace the development of Clubb's thinking on issues of foreign policy and Chinese politics. The correspondence also reveals
Clubb's relations with other China scholars and his role as a foreign policy adviser to several prominent American politicians.